Chapter 289: Suppressing DreamWorks

The sun had just begun its descent in the west, and a massive crowd was already packed in front of the Chinese Grand Theater. Despite the recent troubles plaguing him, Keanu Reeves showed none of his usual gloomy demeanor. Instead, he radiated high spirits. As he stepped onto the red carpet, waves of screams erupted, particularly from fans clutching The Matrix posters who constantly chanted, "Neo!"

The frenzy surrounding Keanu Reeves had barely settled when Charlize Theron stepped out of her RV. Clad in a sweeping mermaid gown, she drove the atmosphere to an absolute fever pitch.

Charlize Theron might have had her physical flaws—like shoulders a bit too broad or feet a bit too large—but she remained one of Hollywood's finest clothes horses. Thanks to years of careful styling and refinement, she was already beginning to exude the commanding aura of a future red-carpet queen.

Compared to his lead actors, Duke's arrival on the red carpet was much more subdued. He always made quick work of these walks; Charlize Theron had only just reached the interview area ahead of him when he stepped in right behind her.

While the main cast and crew took questions in the interview area, the red carpet had not yet ended. A squad of Neos—decked out in black trench coats and dark sunglasses—suddenly emerged from both sides. They marched toward the Chinese Grand Theater with total coolness, whipping the crowd and media into an ever-growing frenzy.

"That's so cool!"

Similar shouts were so deafening they could practically be heard all the way from Hollywood to the beaches of Santa Monica.

Knocking out the routine interviews, dropping a few behind-the-scenes secrets, and posing with the cast and crew in front of the sponsor backdrop—these Hollywood premieres had long since been reduced to a formula.

With the routine obligations complete, Duke and Robin Grande led the way down a side corridor and into the main screening hall. Aside from the front row reserved for the cast and crew, every seat in the house was already packed.

Duke shook hands with a few people who reached out to greet him before making his way to his seat. Tina Fey was sitting right beside it, keeping Aerin Lauder company.

"Where's Anna?" Aerin Lauder asked curiously once Duke sat down. "Why don't I see her?"

"She's with Zack Snyder in New Zealand," Duke replied, turning toward her. "Things have been pretty intense with The Lord of the Rings lately, so they didn't make the trip back."

He offered a small smile. "Thanks for coming to my premiere."

Aerin Lauder blinked at him playfully. "I might not be quite as fanatical as I used to be, but I'm still a textbook Duke fan. The internet reaction to this film has been so intense; since I missed the test screening, I couldn't afford to miss the premiere."

She gently patted Duke's hand. "With everything that's happened lately, I had to come by as a friend and see if you were still as hard as a rock, or if the pressure had finally crushed you."

"Are you reassured now?" Duke rolled his eyes, a rare gesture for him.

Aerin Lauder laughed. "Now I'm reassured. You're the same old Duke."

After a few more moments of banter, Tina Fey shot Duke a look and lowered her voice. "Director Lucas and Director Spielberg are right behind you."

Hearing this, Duke stood up and turned around to greet them.

"Hi, George. Hi, Steven."

He shook hands with them one by one before George Lucas asked, "Why don't I see your mother?"

"Mom went to Europe," Duke said, sounding somewhat helpless. "She's been so busy lately that she didn't even have time to attend my premiere."

After chatting briefly with George Lucas, Duke turned to the other man. He hadn't expected Spielberg to attend the premiere of The Matrix.

Still, both of them were of Jewish descent. The clash with Deep Impact was normal business competition, and Duke's actual target was Morgan Freeman, not Spielberg. They were far from being at each other's throats, so Duke didn't feel awkward in the slightest.

"I might be getting old, Duke," Spielberg said. As a seasoned Hollywood veteran, he clearly possessed an excellent mindset. "But I still check the internet occasionally. The online reaction to The Matrix has been overwhelming. I wanted to see exactly what kind of movie you've brought us as soon as possible."

Duke smiled but said nothing.

Spielberg continued, "A lot of people consider James Cameron the representative technical director in Hollywood, but in my eyes, you are too. The action camerawork and editing techniques you used in Speed and The Rock have brought a revolution to Hollywood action films."

"Steven, you flatter me," Duke replied, offering a rare moment of modesty.

Spielberg shook his head. "There's no need to be humble. The action and sci-fi films being made today are filled with sharp, Duke-style editing."

He shifted the topic to the film at hand. "I saw from the trailers that you've used a lot of new technology and fresh action sequences. Truthfully, there are some things here I ought to learn myself."

Spielberg was aware of his own problems. He understood that this was a rapidly changing era; if he failed to absorb new elements and put them to use, he would inevitably go downhill in the future, much like Francis Coppola.

The fact that they stood in completely different camps destined them never to have a deep relationship. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Duke turned and sat back in his seat.

"A lot of people say women are the kind of creatures who can laugh and joke on the surface while secretly wanting to strangle the other person," Aerin Lauder said, leaning in close so only the two of them could hear. "I'm starting to realize men are much the same."

"Me and Steven Spielberg?" Duke shook his head, using a similarly low voice. "My dear, there's no personal conflict between him and me."

Aerin Lauder didn't reply to that, asking instead, "How much is the box office for Deep Impact up to?"

"As of yesterday, $34.89 million." Duke gestured with his eyes to the other side of Aerin Lauder. "I'm not too sure about today's Thursday box office. You're better off asking Tina."

Deep Impact's box office had virtually no chance of a significant rebound. Starting tomorrow, Friday, the film's North American screening scale would be drastically reduced. They would be lucky to hold onto 2,000 theaters.

This was because The Matrix had expanded its screening scale. Although the film was impacted by its rating and Keanu Reeves's negative press, its actual survey heat was extremely high. Warner Bros. and the North American Theater Alliance had initially set the release scale at 2,800 theaters, but with Deep Impact performing far below expectations, the most direct beneficiary was The Matrix.

Starting tomorrow, The Matrix would officially hit the North American market with a massive wide release across 3,122 theaters.

However, many fans simply couldn't wait. A large number of ordinary moviegoers had squeezed their way into today's premiere screening, especially those who had participated in the test screenings. With no worries about how spectacular the film would be, they were eager to watch it again.

Norman Hiller had been kept out during the third test screening, but this time he had snatched the opportunity to get into the Hollywood Chinese Theater. And from the moment he sat down, he became the center of attention for everyone around him!

Hiller had dyed his hair black and wore black Ray-Ban sunglasses. Dressed in a long black trench coat similar to Neo's, he sat there expressionless, looking incredibly cool. Sporting a look almost identical to Neo's on the poster, it was hard not to attract attention.

"It's a shame I couldn't buy the Nokia Slider Phone," Hiller said to Huggins beside him, turning a blind eye to the curious glances drifting his way and feeling quite good about himself. "The film's official merch doesn't go on sale until tomorrow. I went to a lot of trouble just to get the sunglasses and trench coat, but there was no way to get the Nokia Slider Phone."

He turned to his companion. "How's my look?"

"Very cool!" Huggins gave him a thumbs-up but then offered a different opinion. "I still think Trinity has the coolest look. Those long legs under those tight leather pants..."

He looked as if he was about to drool.

Just a short distance away from them, two eighteen-year-old girls were also discussing the topic.

"Amanda, I don't care who the director of this film is!" a dark-haired girl said to a blonde girl. "I came to see this movie just because the trailer was so cool. I've never seen a movie like this before."

"Miley, wait until you've seen Duke's films," Amanda said dismissively. "You'll realize how outstanding his movies are. You'll end up worshipping him as a director just as crazily as people worship movie stars."

"No I won't!" Miley gently tipped her chin up. "Why would I worship him as a director?"

"Because he turns every impossibility into a possibility on film." Amanda was clearly a fan of Duke's. "He pushes the limits of human imagination even further!"

Hearing the two young girls' voices, Kenneth Turan couldn't help but glance over at them. As one of the most famous professional film critics, he knew exactly what kind of influence Duke Rosenberg's films held among teenagers. What the girl said wasn't an exaggeration at all.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone out of his way to squeeze into this premiere without an invitation.

"The trailer was fantastic, and even delivered a lot of surprises," Kenneth Turan muttered to himself. "Let's hope the film doesn't disappoint. If the scenes in the trailer are equally outstanding in the context of the movie, this is undoubtedly a revolution for Hollywood cinema!"

Just as he was thinking this, the two girls beside him whispered again, "Is it starting?"

The lights above the theater went out row by row, and light gradually illuminated the large screen. It was the iconic opening logos for Warner Bros. and Duke Studio. Unlike in the past, however, the cool, dark green-toned intro looked somewhat blurry and jittery, giving off a very artificial feeling, as if they weren't looking at a real intro...

The intro ended, and countless lines of green code rained down from the top of the screen, finally forming a single line of text—The Matrix!

Next came a voice-over and rapidly flashing computer code, sounding as if they were discussing the search for and protection of someone, and that person seemed to be the Savior!

A dozen police officers wove through a dark, dilapidated corridor, clearly searching for someone. Finally, they arrived in front of a room. The most heavily built officer among them delivered a flying kick, smashing the door open. Inside was a beautiful woman in a tight leather bodysuit!